Async-First Companies 2026: What They Are & Why Remote Workers Love Them

What Makes a Company Async-First?

Async-first is more than just allowing remote work or using Slack instead of emails. It’s a fundamental shift in how a company operates, communicates, and makes decisions.

In an async-first company, the default mode of communication is asynchronous. Meetings are the exception, not the rule. When collaboration is needed, the first question is: “Can this be handled async?” Only when the answer is no does the team move to real-time communication.

Core Principles of Async-First Companies

1. Written communication is primary

Everything important gets written down. Decisions, project updates, feedback, and even casual team discussions happen in documentation tools, project management systems, or long-form messages. This creates a searchable knowledge base and ensures information isn’t siloed in meetings only some attended.

2. Meetings require justification

Before scheduling a meeting, async-first companies require a clear agenda and explanation of why async communication won’t work. Many require a written document shared beforehand so attendees can prepare, reducing meeting time by 50% or more.

3. Response time expectations are reasonable

Rather than expecting instant replies, async-first cultures set reasonable response windows—typically 24 hours for non-urgent matters. This eliminates the pressure to be constantly available and allows for deep work.

4. Documentation over tribal knowledge

Processes, decisions, and context are documented so new team members can onboard without extensive 1:1 meetings. This creates institutional memory that survives employee turnover.

5. Trust and outcomes over presence

These companies evaluate employees on output and results, not hours logged or responsiveness speed. If work gets done well, when and how it happens is flexible.

Benefits of Async-First Companies for Remote Workers

Understanding why async-first matters helps you prioritize these employers in your job search.

Maximum Schedule Flexibility

In async-first companies, you can structure your workday around your life rather than the reverse. Early bird? Work 6 AM to 2 PM. Night owl? Start at noon. Need to handle childcare, appointments, or personal commitments during traditional hours? No problem—your coworkers won’t notice because they’re not expecting you online at specific times.

This flexibility is especially valuable for:

• Parents who need to work around school schedules
• People with health conditions requiring flexible hours
• Digital nomads traveling across time zones
• Workers with caregiving responsibilities
• Anyone who does their best work outside 9-5 hours

Deep Work and Focus Time

The average knowledge worker gets interrupted every 3-5 minutes in a synchronous environment. Each interruption costs 23 minutes of refocused attention. In async-first companies, you can protect hours of uninterrupted focus time because no one expects instant responses.

Developers, writers, designers, and other creative workers particularly benefit—complex work requires sustained concentration that’s impossible in meeting-heavy cultures.

Time Zone Freedom

Async-first companies can hire globally without forcing anyone to work awkward hours. A team member in Tokyo doesn’t need to take 11 PM calls to collaborate with colleagues in New York. Work flows across time zones naturally, with each person contributing during their normal hours.

This creates opportunities for remote workers everywhere, not just in regions close to company headquarters.

Calculate your overlap: Use our Async Work Calculator to see how much working hour overlap you’d have with any team.

Better Work-Life Balance

Without the pressure to respond immediately to every message, async-first workers report lower stress and better boundaries. You can close your laptop at the end of your workday knowing nothing urgent requires your attention until tomorrow.

The always-on anxiety that plagues many remote workers simply doesn’t exist in well-run async cultures.

Inclusive and Equitable Communication

Async communication levels the playing field. Introverts, non-native English speakers, and those who need time to formulate thoughts can contribute equally. Everyone has time to craft thoughtful responses rather than whoever speaks fastest in meetings dominating discussions.

How to Identify Async-First Companies

Not every company claiming to be “remote-first” operates asynchronously. Here’s how to identify truly async-first organizations.

Research Before Applying

Check the company blog and handbook

Async-first companies often write extensively about their communication practices. GitLab’s entire company handbook is public. Doist publishes detailed articles about async workflows. Look for explicit discussions of async principles.

Review Glassdoor and LinkedIn

Search for terms like “meetings,” “async,” “flexibility,” and “communication” in employee reviews. Comments like “too many meetings” or “expected to always be online” reveal synchronous cultures even at supposedly remote companies.

Examine the tech stack

Async-first companies typically use:

• Project management: Linear, Asana, Notion, or GitLab
• Documentation: Notion, Confluence, or GitLab wikis
• Async video: Loom or similar tools
• Communication: Slack or Microsoft Teams (but with clear async expectations)

Companies relying heavily on real-time tools like Zoom without supporting documentation tools are likely sync-heavy.

Look for written job postings

The job posting itself reveals communication style. Async-first companies write detailed, well-documented job descriptions. Vague postings that require a call to learn basics suggest poor documentation culture.

Signals in Job Postings

Green flags for async-first culture:

• “We communicate primarily through written documentation”
• “Meetings are rare and always have agendas”
• “We don’t expect instant responses”
• “Work from any time zone”
• “Flexible hours” combined with remote work
• Mentions of Loom, documentation, or async collaboration

Red flags suggesting sync-heavy culture:

• “Must be available during core hours (9-5 PST)”
• “High collaboration environment” without async details
• “Fast-paced, quick turnaround”
• “Always-on team”
• Required overlap of 6+ hours with specific time zones

Well-Known Async-First Companies

These companies have built reputations for excellent async-first cultures and are worth following for job opportunities.

GitLab

GitLab wrote the book on async-first remote work—literally. Their entire company handbook is public online and details every aspect of their async communication practices.

What makes them async-first:

• All-remote since founding (1,500+ employees globally)
• Meetings require an agenda and are recorded for async viewing
• Everything is documented in the handbook
• No expectation of immediate response to messages
• Transparent salaries and compensation philosophy

Roles they commonly hire: Software engineering, product management, marketing, sales, customer success, HR

Doist

The makers of Todoist and Twist have been async-first since 2007 and actively advocate for this work style through their blog and Twist product.

What makes them async-first:

• Built Twist specifically as an async communication tool
• Publishes extensively about async work practices
• No instant messaging expectations
• Team members across 35+ countries
• Emphasis on thoughtful, written communication

Roles they commonly hire: Software engineering, product design, marketing, customer support

Zapier

Zapier has been fully remote since 2011 and built their culture around async collaboration supporting a global team.

What makes them async-first:

• No physical offices ever
• Heavy use of documentation in Async, their internal wiki
• Meetings are last resort, not default
• Work happens across all time zones
• Published guides on their async practices

Roles they commonly hire: Engineering, product, customer support, marketing, partnerships

Buffer

Buffer pioneered transparent, async-first remote work and shares their practices openly with the public.

What makes them async-first:

• Fully distributed team since 2015
• Public transparency including salaries
• Documented async communication guidelines
• Minimal meeting culture
• Strong emphasis on written updates

Roles they commonly hire: Engineering, data science, customer advocacy, marketing

Automattic

The company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr operates one of the largest async-first workforces.

What makes them async-first:

• 1,900+ employees across 90+ countries
• Blogs (P2) used for internal async communication
• Interviews conducted via text for role fit
• Annual meetups rather than daily meetings
• Async by necessity with global distribution

Roles they commonly hire: Engineering, design, customer support (Happiness Engineers), marketing

Other Notable Async-First Companies

Basecamp: Pioneers of remote work and authors of “Remote: Office Not Required.” Strong documentation culture and minimal meetings.

Help Scout: Customer support software company with fully remote team operating primarily asynchronously.

Gumroad: The creator economy platform operates with extreme async practices and a small, globally distributed team.

PostHog: Open-source product analytics company with transparent handbook and async-first principles.

Sourcegraph: Code search company with public handbook detailing async communication practices.

Hotjar: Website analytics company with strong remote culture and async-first tendencies.

How to Evaluate Async Culture During Interviews

The interview process itself reveals how async-friendly a company truly is. Ask these questions and watch for these signals.

Questions to Ask in Interviews

About communication practices:

• “What percentage of communication happens through written channels vs. meetings?”
• “What’s the expected response time for non-urgent Slack messages?”
• “How do you handle urgent issues that need quick resolution?”
• “Can you walk me through how a typical project decision gets made?”

About meetings:

• “How many recurring meetings does this role typically have weekly?”
• “What’s your policy on meeting-free days or hours?”
• “Are meetings recorded for those who can’t attend?”
• “What needs to happen before scheduling a meeting?”

About documentation:

• “Where would I go to understand how a previous project was completed?”
• “How do new employees onboard—primarily through documentation or meetings?”
• “What documentation tools does the team use?”
• “Is institutional knowledge written down or mostly in people’s heads?”

About flexibility:

• “Are there core hours when everyone needs to be available?”
• “How do you handle time zone differences on the team?”
• “What flexibility exists for scheduling my working hours?”
• “How is work evaluated—hours logged or outcomes delivered?”

Red Flags During the Interview Process

Heavy meeting requirements from day one: If the interview process involves 5+ video calls, expect a meeting-heavy culture. Async-first companies often use written exercises, async video introductions, or shorter interview processes.

Inability to answer async questions: If interviewers can’t clearly explain their async practices or seem confused by the questions, async isn’t truly embedded in the culture.

Pressure for immediate responses: If recruiters push for quick scheduling turnarounds or seem frustrated by reasonable response times, this reveals expectations.

Vague answers about time zone flexibility: “We’re flexible” without specifics often means “We say we’re flexible but expect you to match headquarters hours.”

No documentation shared before interviews: Async-first companies typically send materials (role descriptions, team information, interview process documentation) ahead of time. If you’re going in blind, documentation isn’t prioritized.

Green Flags During the Interview Process

Written components in the interview: Take-home assignments, written Q&A portions, or requests for written examples indicate async-friendly evaluation.

Reasonable scheduling timelines: Companies that give you 24-48 hours to respond rather than pushing for same-day scheduling understand async.

Documented interview process: Receiving clear written information about what to expect, who you’ll meet, and how to prepare signals strong documentation culture.

Interviewers reference written resources: When interviewers say things like “You can read more about this in our handbook” or “We documented this decision in our wiki,” async practices are real.

Flexibility offered without hesitation: Genuine async companies don’t blink when you request specific interview times or ask about time zone accommodation.

Making the Transition to Async Work

If you’re used to synchronous environments, async-first companies require adjustment. Here’s how to prepare.

Skills to Develop

Written communication excellence: In async cultures, your writing represents you. Practice clear, concise, well-structured written communication. Assume readers have context but provide enough detail for those who don’t.

Self-management and autonomy: Without managers checking in throughout the day, you need strong self-direction. Practice setting your own deadlines, prioritizing work, and staying productive without external accountability.

Proactive overcommunication: In async environments, no one knows you’re working unless you tell them. Get comfortable providing regular written updates about your work, blockers, and progress.

Asynchronous collaboration: Learn to break work into pieces that don’t require real-time handoffs. Practice writing clear handoff documentation so others can continue work after you stop.

Patience with response times: Unlearn the expectation of instant responses. Plan work assuming you won’t get answers for 24 hours. Batch questions rather than peppering colleagues with one-off messages.

Demonstrating Async Readiness

When applying to async-first companies, highlight these experiences and skills:

In your resume:

• “Collaborated asynchronously with distributed team across 6 time zones”
• “Maintained comprehensive documentation for all projects”
• “Reduced team meetings by 40% through improved written processes”

In your cover letter:

• Reference your familiarity with async tools (Notion, Loom, Linear)
• Share specific examples of async collaboration
• Express genuine enthusiasm for documentation-first culture

In interviews:

• Ask thoughtful questions about async practices
• Provide examples of successful async work
• Demonstrate clear written communication in any written exercises

Conclusion

Async-first companies represent the gold standard for remote workers seeking true flexibility, focus time, and work-life balance. By prioritizing written communication, minimizing meetings, and trusting employees to manage their own time, these organizations create environments where location and schedule become irrelevant to success.

When job searching, look beyond “remote” labels to understand how companies actually communicate. Ask direct questions about async practices in interviews. Research company handbooks and employee reviews for evidence of genuine async culture.

The companies listed in this guide—GitLab, Doist, Zapier, Buffer, Automattic, and others—have proven that async-first work creates more productive, inclusive, and sustainable organizations. Following their career pages and understanding their practices gives you a roadmap for finding remote work that truly delivers on the promise of flexibility.

Not every async-first role will be the right fit, and transitioning from synchronous work requires adjustment. But for remote workers who value autonomy, deep work, and freedom from meeting overload, async-first companies offer something increasingly rare: the ability to do your best work on your own terms.